Acute Residential Program Administrator - Social Service Spec. V - Denver - Remote.

Department Information

This position is open to current Colorado residents only

This position is designated remote. Employees must have reliable access to high speed internet service as well as a work setting which permits privacy and confidentiality. This position required to travel to multiple locations throughout the state as well as regularly scheduled meetings typically in the Denver Metro Area.

Please note: This recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

Most State of Colorado employees are eligible for a great benefit package! Please see the Supplemental Information section below for details!

Division of Child Welfare: Provider Services Unit.

The position is located in the Division of Child Welfare, Provider Services Unit. The Division is responsible for the ongoing implementation of child welfare services in Colorado and supervises county departments of human/social services in the administration of Child Welfare programs, as well as privately operated 24-hour care facilities. The Provider Services Unit exists to license, manage, supervise and provide statewide oversight for privately operated 24- hour childcare facilities and agencies, to include Qualified Residential Treatment Facilities, Residential Child Care Facilities, Secure Residential Treatment Centers, Psychiatric Residential Treatment Centers, Homeless Youth Shelters, Specialized Group Homes and Centers, Child Placement Agencies, Adoption Agencies, Day Treatment Facilities, state-contracted residential programs, and family foster care homes across the State of Colorado. The goals of the unit are to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the youth served in those facilities, programs, and homes. The work unit is responsible for comprehensive integrated (Interagency) licensing and monitoring of the 24-hour childcare facilities and to audit and investigate reports/allegations involving licensing violations, facility or agency culpability, and to ensure the safety of children in out-of-home placements.

Description Of Job

The purpose of this position includes:

This position serves as the Senior Authority of, and oversees, the Acute QRTP contracts program within the Division of Child Welfare. This position is responsible for implementing elements of House Bill 24-1038, Section 3, which mandates the Department to increase the number of facilities and beds contracted for out of home care for children and youth with unmet complex needs. This legislation continues work initiated by the Department in the area of contracts for out of home care. In particular, this position is responsible for the growth of these contracts in the domain of Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP) to serve children and youth who are otherwise unable to access placement in Colorado. These children and youth may be in extended stay in hospital departments, in placement out of state, in detention past their release date, or otherwise of critical need for placement and treatment.

This position is responsible for engaging in stakeholder feedback to identify strengths and barriers within the provider population, to assess data from county departments and hospitals to aggregate information about children and youth who are currently unable to access appropriate levels of care, and to develop programming to meet the needs of these gap populations. Based on this information, this position partners with procurement to request proposals and award vendors for this service. Upon award, this position develops contracts, operating procedures, and business rules to launch the new programming. Following launch, this position oversees admissions and discharges in accordance with statute, oversees the quality of the programming in the facilities, collaborates with community partners to support the program, promulgates rule, and oversees financial contracts between the facilities, the county departments of social services, other referring entities, and the Colorado Department of Human Services.

This position is a senior authority on the topic of QRTPs, best practice interventions, staffing recruitment and retention for residential care, service array and support for children with unmet complex needs, Colorado’s compliance with the federal Family First Prevention Services Act as pertains to QRTPs, independent assessments, level of care determinations, and QRTP provider practices and needs. This position influences multiple other agencies, to include county departments, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the Behavioral Health Administration, the Department of Public Health and Environment, as well as local and national organizations related to QRTP practice. This position provides expert opinion to management and leadership regarding outcomes of these programs, utilization of federal and state funds for this purpose, trends in demographics of clients requiring this service, and projections regarding continuation of these services in the future. This position influences policy decisions statewide, as the QRTP programs and operations this position administers represent the highest supportive level for this service.

This position oversees direct report staff that support the program’s operations. Supervisory duties for this position include preparing position descriptions, performance plans and evaluations, timekeeping, approval of in-state, non-air travel and reimbursement requests, and leave slips. This position will be 100% remote with the staff’s home address as sole and permanent workplace; travel will be required to regular and periodic meetings within the unit, Division, Office, and with other state and community partners. Regular travel to providers contracted for these services will be required to perform quality assurance site visitation. Other travel may include: providing training, attending training, stakeholder engagement, potential vendor outreach, technical assistance, and support of other placement services functions.

Duties

Quality Assurance of the Facilities and Technical Assistance. Serves as the Senior Authority for oversight of the Acute QRTPs. Provides ongoing and consistent oversight of the daily operations of the facilities in conjunction with the Facility Directors. Examines the quality of programming, practices and policies, and compliance with Volume 7 regulations and the contracts between the Acute QRTPs the Colorado Department of Human Services. Conducts building and site inspections, ensures staff are supervised and trained according to their individual needs and the needs of the youth, assesses treatment planning, observes milieu, assesses behavioral interventions utilized by facilities, reviews staffing patterns, reviews therapy frequency, and conducts interviews with staff and youth to determine quality of care provided.

Provides or researches options for, and coordinates technical assistance to, the facilities in order to support the delivery of quality care to youth and to increase their compliance with State and Federal rules and the contract, with particular focus on child protection and safety. Position influences the facilities to improve programming for those practices not defined in rule in order to assure that programming meets the diverse needs of children in placement who have histories of abuse and neglect, mental illness, and behavioral needs. Facilitates training and regular communication between the facilities for consistency of care, program improvement, and collaborative planning. This position is a senior authority for the Division of Child Welfare in the areas of residential programming for children with unmet complex needs, Qualified Residential Treatment Facilities, and treatment planning related to these populations.

This position advises office and Departmental leadership, legislative liaisons, and affiliated Departments on the progress of these programs as pertains to shared projects and objectives. This position provides reporting and advice to these entities in accordance with statutory reporting requirements as mandated by the Child Welfare Interim Committee of 23/24.

This position works closely with other Departments, to include Health Care Policy and Financing and the Department of Public Health and Environment, to ensure compliance within the contracted QRTPs with any changes or action items required by these entities. This position influences these entities policies and operations by providing specific, evidentiary data from the contract programs’ operations. This position identifies barriers in Medicaid payments, discrepancies in access to services for Medicaid clients who are not involved in Child Welfare, and additional inconsistencies for Medicaid clients to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to direct their actions to implement elements of HB 24-1038. This position is responsible for ensuring that all clients accessing services are offered their legal rights regarding education. This position works with the Office of the Child’s Representative and the Department of Education to guide practice regarding child education rights and to address gaps and barriers to accessing education for these clients both while in the facilities and in planning for discharge to the community.

Billing and Payment Management. Oversees the payments from the Department to the facilities for occupied beds and the payments from the Department of Human Services to the facilities for held or open beds. Ensures invoices from the facilities are accurate, submits invoices for authorization and payment, and tracks payment process and receipt. Ensures adequate Prior Authorization Requests are transferred by the contracted facilities to ensure Medicaid payments can be utilized whenever possible. Supports facilities in assessing or obtaining prior authorization requests, determining the impact of any change to the child/youth’s Regional Accountable Entitiy. Examines the financial documentation to ensure the stability of the facilities and that the needs of the youth are being met. Examines the financial documentation to guarantee appropriate allocation and spending per the terms of the contract. Assists county departments of human or social services in establishing contracts with the facilities and accessing resources for support and stepdown.

This position is a senior authority in appropriate billing structure for QRTPs. This position utilizes their expertise in approving, reviewing, and authorizing budgetary allocations and projections for QRTPs which are able to meet the needs of clients who otherwise cannot access QRTPs in Colorado. This position uses this data and expertise to influence rate setting recommendations and research for Child Welfare as well as for the BHA’s oversight of QRTPs and HCPF’s rate setting expectations for QRTPs.

Contract Establishment and Renewal.Completes necessary procurement processes to award new vendors for statutorily mandated bed expansion. Develops contracts with new vendors to establish work products required, quality assurance measures, and determine fiscal needs and responsibilities. Facilitates launch of new programming at contracted vendors through training, coordination, and messaging to external stakeholders.

Evaluates program through the analysis of policies and procedures, behavior management and discipline, utilization of restraint/seclusion, staff qualifications, medication administration, and plans for educational, community, and recreational activities, treatment and services to be provided, and site compliance and quality via inspections and interviews. Ensures that the facilities meet mandatory requirements of external entities that also oversee facilities: CDPHE, HCPF, the BHA, zoning and planning, and fire departments. Oversees annual renewal of the Acute QRTP contracts with the Department of Human Services. Incorporates legislative changes to statute into rule drafts to be submitted to the state board. Evaluates the contract content to ensure quality standards of service are enforced for the facilities and modifies the contract as needed. Assesses utilization of contracted beds to maximize efficiency of Department spending and acquisition of services. Incorporates stakeholder and community partner feedback into modifications of contract performance and service. Incorporates information from local hospitals, county departments, the Division of Youth Services, the courts system, HCPF, and the BHA to continually improve quality and outcomes of the objectives of the program. Reports to leadership and develops written reports for the legislature to account for the programs duties and expenditures and to influence future related programming.

Supervision. This position has first level supervisory responsibility for an Intake and Resource Specialist in the Acute Residential Program.

• Provide daily guidance to staff regarding referral evaluation, facility capacity, compliance, assessment, etc. to ensure consistency across the teams.
• Meets individually with direct reports to problem solve issues, discuss progress, and ensure team processes and program policy development objectives are planned and met.
• Coach and empower staff to become experts and/or maintain expertise in their positions.
• Create a culture that fosters success by providing performance management through feedback and coaching.
• Conducts interim and annual performance evaluations for first level direct reports.
• Responsible for ensuring workplace equity, safety and leadership development.
• Address performance issues in a timely, responsible manner and effectively recognize high performers.
• Articulate changes in organizational and business priorities to staff in ways that encourage action and support.
• Support the development of employees that results in improved performance.
• Create and maintain a work environment that builds talent to ensure the continuity of leadership for the organization.
  
  

Other duties as assigned . All other duties as assigned from leadership within the Division of Child Welfare.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

Experience Only

Eight (8) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position. Related experience will be based on: Child welfare practice and/or services for children and youth with complex unmet mental and behavioral health needs.

OR

Education And Experience

A combination of related educa tion ( Social work, sociology, public health, psychology and related fields) and/or r elevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to eight (8) years.

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant years of State service experience
• Experience with Colorado's child welfare system to include county practice, residential levels of care, and case management preferred.
• Experience with Colorado's Medicaid system, to include Regional Accountable Entities, Medicaid compliance, and prior authorization requests preferred.
• Comprehension of the Family First Prevention Services Act and related foundations of Qualified Residential Treatment Facilities preferred.
  
  

Conditions of Employment

• Standard Background. ALL CDHS employees (non-direct contact): CBI name check, ICON Colorado court database, Medicare fraud database, Reference checks, Professional License verification (licensure requirements), and drug screen (commercial Driver’s license).
• Travel. Travel is required to meetings, training, vendor site visits, potential vendor stakeholder meetings, client interviews, etc.
• Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must (1) disclose that information on the application (2) provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify the applicant from the current position, (3) provide the employee number from the applicant’s prior State employment. Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination and failure to provide this information will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with CDHS.
  
  

Appeal Rights

If you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email (dpa_state.personnelboard@state.co.us), postmarked in US Mail or hand delivered (1525 Sherman Street, 4th Floor, Denver CO 80203), or faxed (303.866.5038) within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board; go to spb.colorado.gov ; contact the State Personnel Board for assistance at (303) 866-3300; or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

Supplemental Information

How To Apply

Need help with your application? Click here.

The Assessment Process

For additional recruiting questions, please contact amber.holcomb@state.co.us

About Us

If your goal is to build a career that makes a difference, consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). Our professionals strive to design and deliver high quality human and health services that improve the safety, independence, and well-being of the people of Colorado. In addition to a great location and rewarding and meaningful work, we offer:

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan www.copera.org plus 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• BenefitHub state employee discount program
• Employee Wellness program MotivateMe
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training and more
• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more
  
  

information, go to https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhr/student-loan-forgiveness-programs .

Our Values

We believe in a people-first approach: To serve the people of Colorado, we develop a culture and work environment that creates an energized, inspired, and healthy team capable of giving their best to Coloradans .

Balance creates quality of life: We want our team to be resilient through a supportive workplace that values flexibility, health and wellness, and employee engagement.

We hold ourselves accountable: We take responsibility through our actions, programs, and results for the state of health and human services in Colorado.

Transparency matters: We are open and honest with employees, our partners, the Coloradans we serve, and the public.

We are ethical: We abide by what is best for those we serve by doing what is right, not what is easy.

Collaboration helps us rise together: We work together with all partners, employees, and clients to achieve the best outcomes for Coloradans.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

ADAA Accommodations: CDHS is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAA Coordinator, Nancy Schmelzer, at cdhs_ada@state.co.us or call 1-800-929-0791.

~THE STATE OF COLORADO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER~

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